The current COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly impacted every area of our lives and, in particular, is creating an unprecedented challenge to our health and care systems worldwide. Governments across the globe are taking numerous measures to respond to the urgent care needs of those impacted by COVID-19, while at the same time trying to reduce the long-term impact on vulnerable people as much as possible. IFIC recognizes the extraordinary pressures that this crisis has imposed on health and care decision-makers, but particularly on system managers and frontline staff. Our thoughts are with you all. 

The International Foundation for Integrated Care (IFIC) is well aware that COVID-19 impacts are highly localized and reflect both the health and care systems and population demographics in each region and country.  Since the first COVID-19 cases appeared, countries have developed different strategies and responses to cope with the pandemic. At the same time, we have witnessed a wide range of innovations and willingness to adapt to these challenging times.

IFIC will be facilitating the ability of our community to share some of these inspiring stories and experiences through a series of special webinars aimed at supporting those working in the health and care sectors. The first webinar will take place on Wednesday, 8 April (4pm Dublin/London/Lisbon) – and the focus to kick-off the series is to enable health and care decision-makers and managers to hear about the integrated care approaches implemented and considerations made to address people’s continued care and support needs beyond the public health issues and crisis management.  The webinar will include an opportunity to ask questions and share experiences and the launch of IFIC’s COVID-19 Knowledge Exchange Platform to facilitate the sharing of people’s experiences of responding to the situation. 

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